Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper reminded by son Larry of the days when this time of year meant “chasing the hex hatch” which translates to the two of them often driving at breakneck speed to get to the Mecan River in time for the nightfall hatch …
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Category:Wisconsin
Kickass Milks the Cows
Attribution: Jonathan Wilkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, as a former farm boy who knew the experience of hand-milking cows, laments the progression of the twice daily task to “milking parlors” and rotating stalls and the hand-over to immigrant farm workers. With that last …
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Kickass and Old Licenses
Attribution: Photo by Andreas Haubold on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, warns the keeper that it is possible to overdo in saving mementos as they are wont to span time on very rickety bridges and leave you stranded on an impossible fantasy island. So it was with the keeper’s 1944-1945 Wisconsin resident hunting and trapping licenses that somehow …
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Kickass the Bird Killer
Attribution: Alan D. Wilson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper began the day grappling with the question that has plagued him for the better part of his life: As he now lives amicably and supportive of all birds, can he erase that early part of his …
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Kickass and the Birds at the Arboretum
Attribution: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not always get involved in the keeper’s scientific projects, but was unable to resist as the keeper and Phyllis had a serious look at how they might share the exciting ongoing seasonal migration with the birds. First they checked …
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Kickass and Four Sons
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noted the keeper’s delight with the recent posting by Becky W. of an old photo of him and his four sons at a long-ago rare moment when the sons were all lined up like innocent choir boys. The photo dates to the early 1960’s …
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Kickass and Spring of 2025
Attribution: USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis issuing the following executive order: All Wisconsin residents and visitors shall, within the next few days, immerse themselves in the birthing of the summer of 2025. It is a magnificent thing: trees in colorful new-leaf …
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Kickass and Hummingbirds
Attribution: Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, watched the keeper hang the hummingbird feeder off his and Phyllis’s 5th floor balcony railing and refrained from laughing at such foolish human behavior. (Dogs can laugh but they do it silently so it doesn’t embarrass their keepers who are forever doing dumb and …
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Kickass Remembers Grocery Shopping
Attribution: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper remembers a grocery shopping trip with his mother as follows: Park in the Barron, WI. back alley and lug the crate of fresh eggs in through the back door where grocer Harry Meyers checked them over …
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Kickass and Earth Day 2025
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper acknowledging this Earth Day with a salute to Phyllis who lives in harmony, helpfulness and respect for the besieged Earth far in excess of the keeper’s slovenly ways. Once on an early Earth Day, the keeper canoed down the Namakagon River …
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Kickass and Old Protests
Attribution: uwdigitalcollections, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, tries not to get in the way as Phyllis and friends work out an introduction to the city bus system so they can get to the Capitol for such things as political demonstrations. The keeper, in the meantime retreats to a …
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Kickass and Model T Coils
Attribution: dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes with the keeper and Phyllis that occasionally there will be a Facebook post that sends one or the other of them hurtling back through the decades. Such was the case for the keeper when the Model T …
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